Copying devices



Feb. 5, 1963 w. I xMBERGx-:R 3,076,399

COPYING DEVICES Filed July 2l, 1960 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 sw www@ Bv l Feb. 5, 1963 w. LIMBl-:RGER

COPYING DEVICES 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 21, 1960 Feb. 5, 1963 w.| 1MBERGER COPYING DEVICES e sheets-sheet s Filed July 2l, 1960 mm m Feb. 5, 1963 w.| 1MBl-:RGER 3,076,399

COPYING DEVICES Filed July 21, 1960 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Feb. 5, 1963 W. LIMBERGER 3,076,399

COPYING DEVICES Filed July 21,' 1960 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 WALTE/ MBE/V65? F eb. 5, 1963 W. LIMBERGER 3,076,399

COPYING DEVICES Filed July 21, 1960 6 sheets-sheet 6 2B fmt United States Patent C) 3,075,399 Y CoPYrNG ouvrons Waltr'Limberger, Harnhurg-Poppnbuttel, Germany, as-v signor to Lumoprint Zindler KG., Hamburg, 'Germany' Filed July 2l, 1960, SerLNo.v 44,424

6 Claims. (Cl. 95-73) The invention relates' to a copying device comprising a surfaceexposure device having a transparent Contact surface, a `contact cover being disposed onY that side of such surface which is remote from the lighting source.

In such known apparatus the contactcover is hinged alongone` edge( and has one -or more catches along the opposite edge. It is known to provide inside the cover frame va resiliently mounted contactrplat'e which holds ororiginals` of up to aV predetermined reduced thickness can be used. 'I 'he size of the original is also determined by the cover frame. If the original is fairly ll5 the original against the contact surface. `Suchl plate has Y only a limited movement so thatonly sheet-like originals thick, -adjustment must vbe provided, for instance, of the hinges and catch. As a rule, the known copying apparatus can be used to make copies from books only Yif special measures, in theform of adjustable hinges and catches, are taken or only if the contact surface is so large that it can receive the" complete opened book, although even then parts of the copy may be obscure due to the fold of the open book. It is difficult to handle the known apparatus for producing a copy on a sheet,`

for to introduce and engage with one another the original andthe negative, the cover must first be lifted, whereafter the original and negative must be placed on the contact surface, after which the catches must be operated. The provisionof a lot of fittings-ie., hinges and catches-makes the apparatus expensive. These disadvantages become very noticeable when adjustable fit- -tings areprovided. y Since the cover is fixedly hinged along one edge, it is often very ditiicult in the known designs l.to ensure that the original and the filmare pressed together completely uniformly.

One-object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which is an improvement on the known surface exposure thedcontact surface is guidedv resiliently and is pivotallyV articulated through-the agency of spring means to one or more articulated connections, the drive of whicheither disengages the contact cover from the Vcontact surface or engages such cover with such surface. Y A substantially free mobility of the cover is therefore provided which automatically adjusts itself to be substantially parallel withthe contact surface and which is adapted invitsposition to'theupattern vandr thickness of an original, even though'such cover is articulated eccentrically.

According to another very advantageous feature of theinvention, the linkage connection or connections vcomprisesfor comprise a spring which enables the position of thecover, when the same is in engagement with the contact-surface, to be adapted to theorigina'l and which alsoH provides the required contact pressure. These linkage connections are provided on vertically movable articulation means inside the casing. Such means can take the form of crank-like eccentrics fitted` to shafts,

3,076,399 Patented Feb. 5., 1963 ICC 2 or for instance, lifting magnets. Advantageously, each linkage connection comprises two branches each inthe form of drawing connections operative in opposite directions to one another, one branch operating by way of a reversing pulley; Two offset eccentrics or cranksare provided, each serving to operate one branch.

According to another very advantageous feature of they invention, the eccentric or eccentrics or crank or cranksis or are disposed-on a shaft which is mounted lon the casing of thel exposure device and which preferably ex- I tends through the exposure part of the casing. Such shaft can be rotated, for instance, through the agency of a hand crank, the articulations-ie., movement of the cover-being actuated in opposite directions by natation of the hand crank through .v The invention also relates to va motor drive for theshaft comprisingeccentrics or cranks, the motor drive being controlled, forinstance, through the agency of a press button or limit switch or a switching roller which also controls Aother functions, such Yas the triggering of an exposure clock, the winding-M up thereof and soon.

Another advantageous yfeature of the 'invention concerns an arrangement of lifting magnets in the linkages. Insuch'a case'there is no need'for a control by ec-v' centrics or cranks, since the upward movement cf the cover is produced by at least two lifting magnets,-springs conveniently being provided between the` magnet armatures-and the cover. A

In one particular embodiment of the invention, the cover is guided perpendi-cularly to the contact surface i on at least three and, forinstance, four linkage connec-4 tions.`A According to another advantageous feature, only two linkage connections are provided, each such conection being provided at opposite sides of thev cover at a placeofset from the centre of the sides; This provides a very advantageous way for adjustment of the cover for adaptation to an original; Where two linkage connections are used, the cover can with-advantage'be guidedl for vertical movement by way lof the edge remote from' the articulation places. For instance, the cover can be provided with pins or rollers running in` vertical or substantially vertical guide slots which are ad- 'Y vantageously contiguous with the cover sides so as also to provide` lateral guiding.

The invention relates to a construction having consider able horizontal play in the vertical or substantially vertical j guide. For'instance, the rear cover edge is contiguous with the rear Wall of the casing. According to a variant, guide rods are articulated to the cover sides near the edge of the cover and extend into guides on or below the contact plate.` Such rods are therefore'free to Vmove vertically' and provide satisfactory guiding of the contact cover which can be pivoted vertically on them. According to f another very advantageous feature, there-using of the ap,` paratus is formed with an aperture for the introductionl ofthe original and a film, more particularly Where two j linkage connections are used, the `aperture being 'located near to that edge'of the cover which is near the articula;A tionplaces ofthe connection. According to another fea- Y ture'of 'the'inventiom the oppositel casing Wall, on which .Y the adjacent cover edge can be guided inthe vertical guides, is formed above the contact surface with a sloty through which some of the original can be pushed if the original is larger than the contact surface.

In combination apparatus the invention proposes the1 very advantageous arranement of a developing'device" above the exposure device, a free spacebeing left betweenk the base of the developing device and the cont-actsurface," the contact coverbeing guided in the manner specified in" suchspace. In this embodiment, for instance, if linkage'-lv connections are used with two drawingibranches, revers'-VV ing rollers can be'provided at the top of the space. Sucha i construction of a combination apparatus with the arrangement and construction according to the invention of the contact cover has considerable advantages, because the cover, the position of which adapts itself to the original, can be operated with one handle, for instance, the crank for the eccentric or crankshaft, without any handling of the cover being required directly r without special steps being required to adjust the same.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the ernbodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a sectioned side elevation of an apparatus according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an end elevation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 with part of the front wall broken away, and with internal parts of the apparatus which are disposed behind the front wall being shown in chain lines;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of a preferred apparatus according to the invention, the front casing wall being removed and some parts being shown fragmented to make the drawing clearer;

PIG. 4 is a side elevation of the apparatus shown in FlG. 3 in section on the line lV-lVg FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram for the driving circuit of an apparatus according to the invention;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of `another apparatus according to the invention, and

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII- VII of FIG. 6.

The copying device, as shown in FlGS. 1 and 2, cornpri'ses chambers 2, 3, 4 placed one above another in the casing of a combination apparatus. The bottom chamber 2 contains the exposure device, having light sources 5, 6. Advantageously, the chamber 2 also contains electrical connections and, if required, adjusting means for the light sources and a timer 96 for adjusting the duration of exposure. The chamber 2 is closed at the top by a contact surface 7 which is transparent. For reasons to be explained hereinafter, the sides of the contact surface 7 are formed with slots which extend in the plane of the ldrawing and through which linkage connections extend. By way of example, those walls 97, 98 of the exposure device which extend in the plane of the drawing in FIG. 1

are rebated a little towards the casing interior and away from the parallel casing walls so that narrow spaces are left on the sides.

The central chamber 2t is bounded at the top by a partition 8 on which is disposed a known developing device 9 which occupies a chamber 4. The device 9 can be releasably or non-releasably secured to the partition 8 and does not require any further description, except that it has an entry aperture 1t) disposed at the top corner of the casing on the operating side, While an exit aperture 11 is disposed in the top of the casing. The electrical driving and connecting means 94 for the device 9 are separated 'by a wall and are disposed on the partition f.

'A contact cover 12 is guided in the chamber 3 as to be movable perpendicularly to the surface 7. The cover 12 isguided, by its end 13 which is near the casing rear wall, in a vertical guide which, in the embodiment illustrated, takes the form of a bowed member 15 disposed on the casing rear wall 14. Such a bowed member 15 is provided on each side of the cover 12. Lateral guiding of the cover 12 is ensured by the gap between the straight pa-rt ofeach bowed member or stirrup 15 and the wall 14. Also, the cover 12 cooperates with the stirrup 15 by means of pivots 16 which can with advantage bear rollers to ensure that the cover 12 is guided on the stirrups 15 with Y reduced friction. The size of the stirrups 15 is such that the rollers need not always run on the vertical straight part of the stirrups 15. If desired, the cover 12 can also be guided on the casing rear wall 1d. To reduce friction, rollers can again be provided on the cover for such guidance; alternatively,`the rollers disposed on the pivot 16 can Y which extend in the plane of the drawing, by one linkage Cil connection 1.7 each. This connection comprises two `branches 18, 19 the branch 19 comprising a spring 2u and being adapted to engage the cover 12 with the contact surface 7. The other -branch 18 is adapted to raise the cover 12, for instance, into the position illustrated in the drawing. Advantageously, the two branches 18, 19 are connected to the cover 12 by a suspension pivot 21which is secured to the cover 12 and to which the tension spring 2t) of the branch 19 and belting 22 of the branch 18 are secured. By way of example, special grommets 23 are provided for xing.

Branch 19 comprises, as well as the spring 2t), an angled part 24 pivoted at 25 to an eccentric 26. The branch 13, comprising the belting 22, has a corresponding angled part 27 pivoted at 28 to an eccentric 29. The betting 22 runs over a roller 39 rotatably mounted on the sides of the chamber 3 below the partition 8, which is formed with a recess 31 in which part of the roller fait runs, which arrangement makes for a more compact construction. The roller 3), which is mounted, for instance, by means of screws 32, 33, is of considerable length, to ensure, first, that it can be shifted without becoming jammed while the cover 12 is being moved, and, second, to allow a shifting of the pivots of the branches 18, 19 to the cover 12 or a shifting of the pivot 21. The eccentrics Z6, 29 are fitted to a shaft 34 as to rotate therewith and are odset from one another by about 160. The shaft 3d extends transversely through the exposure device or through the chamber 2 in which the exposure light sources are disposed. The shaft 34 is mounted in the side walls of the exposure device, for instance, in bushes. One end of the shaft 3d extends out of the casing 1 and is adapted to receive a crank 99 for operation of the eccentrics 26, 29. The shaft is provided with a 4ratchet arrangement which co-operates with corresponding ratchet elements on the casing walls to lock the shaft in position. The arrangement illustrated, wherein the eccentrics 26,

29 are offset from one another at an angle of approximately 166 and wherein the angled parts 24, 27 are bent in opposite directions to one another, leads to a dead centre arrangement such that the shaft is automatically retained in the various operating positions. More particularly, this dead centre position is controlled by the force of the spring 2t? when the cover 12 is in engagement with the surface 7. y

The dead centre position is adjusted by the bent parts of the angled parts 2d, 27 which co-operate either with the shaft 34 itself or with a limit bush thereon. Clearly, the shaft is rotated backwards and forwards between the various operating positions, since the parts 34 24, 27 prevent the shaft from being rotated continuously in any one direction.

The advantage of arranging the eccentrics 26, 29 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is that there is no need for the shaft 34 to be bent or cranked in any way. ln this ar-A rangement, the eccentrics are disposed on a sleeve 95 which is pushed on to the shaft 34 and'secured thereon,

yfor instance, by means of a pin.

The casing front wall is provided with an entry aperture 36 through which an original and a negative emulsion base can be introduced and placed on to the Contact surface 7 once the cover 12 has been raised. For this purpose the rear Wall 14 is formed, near and above the contact surface 7, lwith a slot 37 through which, if the original is longer than the surface 7, parts of the original can be pushed when the rear cover 13 is raised automatically.

The aforesaid lateral slots` in the surface '7 are adapted "nor/maas 'trated in FIG. 1, rthe cover `12 has been raised'by' the branch 18 associated with the belting 22. If the shaft 34 is rotated through 180, the branch 18 is raised, the belting 22 running ove-r the roller r30. Simultaneously, the

branch 19 drawsthe cover 12 on to the contact surface above a contact surface 4S- The chamber receiving the exposure device 39 is closed at the `top by a partition '46 above which is a space receiving a known developing device which maybe similar 'to the developing device 9 shown in FIG. 1.

EFIG.` 3 also shows how the chamber receiving the developing device can be sub-divided by a partition 48which separates the `developing device 47'frorn the driving elements 49 associated with a pair of squeezing and conveying rollers of the developing device. The elements`49 comprise a motor with'its reduction train, and a transformer 50.- 'The output shaft of the reduction train eX- tends through the partition 48 and is connected by a coupling 51a to the drive shaft of the pair of squeezing rollers.

The side walls 40, 41 ofthe exposure device comprise vertical guides 51, 51' for the cover v44. Such guides, which also provide for the lateral guiding of the cover, are located at some distance from the rearward end of the contact surface 45 and are formed with a slot 42 in which run rollers 53a disposed on the sides of the cover 44. A guiding of this nature obviates any contact between the cover 44 and the casing rear wall. The vertical guides 51, 51' are' ledge-like and also provide lateral guiding of the cover 44.

etween the'side walls 40, 41 and thecasing As can be 'seen in FIG. 3, a shaft '53 is mounted in bushes 54, 55 in the side walls 40, 41 of the exposure de- Vice and extends transversely therethrough.v Cranks 56,

57 are disposed on the shaft 53 outside-the Walls 41, 42

and serve to guide linkage connections 42, 43 secured at one of their ends to ytheucranks and at theother of their ends to pivots S0, 59 secured to the cover 44.

The linkage connections comprise,`in the embodiments illustrated, a spring60, the ends of which are secured to the cranks and the pivots. This spring takes the form of a helical spring and forms that branch of the connection which moves the'c'ontact cove-r intoY engagement with the contact surface. The spring 60 can also serve to disengage such cover from such surface if it is sufficiently rigid. To increase the rigidity of the springs 60, a rod 61 can be guided therein according to the embodiment illustrated. The rod 61 bears, when the spring is completely compressed, against the cranks 56, 57 and pivots S8, 59 and thus forms that branch of the linkage connections 42, 43 by which the cover 44 is raised.

A rigid tubular element could be used instead of the rod 61 to guide the spring and such element would be retained or guided on the cranks -or pivots at the places where the spring is pivoted, without any particular additional steps being required for this purpose. The advantage of the arrangement shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 over that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 i-s that spring length is greater, so that adjustability is improved.

The crank 57 has an extension 62 extending axially of the shaft 53. The extension 62 is disposed on the crank arm 63 which 4extends parallel with the crank arm 64 connected to the shaft 53. The extension 62 may extend to the outside through the side wall of the casing 3S. In the embodiment illustrated, a crank 67 which is fitted by means of a connection 65, 66 comprising a recess and a projection extends out of the casing 38- so that the shaft 53 can be rotated, and the cranks S6, l57 can therefore be rotated to operate the cover 44. The operative positions of the cranks S6, 57 are determined by stops68, 69

.which are secured to the side wa1l`40 of the exposure device and which may consist of bushes securedby screws.

In FIG. 3, the 'cover 44 is shown in solid lines in the same positionas in FIG. 1. The chain-line-illustrated 'position 44 of the cover is the position taken up thereby when a fairly thick original is placed on the contact surface 45.' It will be apparent that the cover 44 takes up a position substantially parallel with ythe surface 45 but at some distance therefrom.

The chamber 70 near the exposure device is adapted to contain any electrical connecting elements which may be required and any control means required to adjust the exposure light sources'. Advantageously, a timer 71 yfor controlling the duration of exposure is provided on the' crank 67 so that thesame abuts the element 72 in its bottom position. Alternatively, the timer canfbe triggered 'by a triggering element which co-operates with the Ycrank 67 and whichv is disposed vinside the casing 38, or

a special stop lever can be used on the shaft extension 62, to operate such triggering element.

As in the Vdevice illustrated in FIGS. 1 and' 2, the embodiment illustrated in FIGS.'3 and 4 comprisesan S entry -aperture 73 a't the front and a slot 74 at 'the back,

the aperture 73 and slot 74 corresponding respectively to the aperture 36 and slot 37 shown in FIG. l. l

A suitable driving circuit is illustrated in FIG. 5. Terminals 76, 77 are 'connected by a switch'78 to a primary winding of a transformer 79. A circuit 81 "adapted to be made separately, for instance by a switch 80, extends from the secondary winding of the transformer 79 to a driving motor 82of the two conveying and squeezingrollers S3 (see FIG. 1) of the developing device. Also connected to such secondary winding, for instance, through the' agency'of a -switch84, is Van exposure timer 85 'from 'which extend wires 36m the exposure light sources 87. The

switches 30, 34 can be interconnected for common operaf tion as indicated at 88; I v p FIG. 5 diagrammatically illustrates a hand crank'89`for operating the crank shaft or the eccentric 90 to which the i linkage connection 91' is pivoted. The timer triggering element 92 is connected'mechanically, as indicated'at 93, to the eccentric 90.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show merely an exposure device having the cover arrangement according to the invention. Such device comprises a casing 122 having side walls 100, 101. 'Ihe casing receives exposure light sources 102 and a switching device 103 with electrical switching means and a timing clock. The top of the device is covered by a transparent contact plate 104 formed, near the sides of the device, with rebates 105, 106 in which the linkage connections extend.

A contact cover 1017 is guided for movement above the contact plate 104. The cover 107 is articulated at its rearward end to guide rods 108 which extend in guide bushes 109 inside the casing and, with advantage, below the plate 104. The cover 107 is therefore laterally guided yet is free to move vertically, and can also be pivoted around connecting pins 110 between the cover 107 and the rods 108. This embodiment, shown in FIG. 6, has the advantage that no guide means have to be placed above the plate 104.

Near its forward edge the cover 107 is guided on two linkage connections 111, 112 which, asin the embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, comprise a Accordingto a very advantageous spring 113 and, if required, a rod 114 `disposed therein. lt can be gathered, more particularly from FIG. 7, that the rod 114 is shorter than the spring 113 which is stretched when the cover is in the closed position.

The bottom end of the linkage connection is articulated to cranks 115, 116 which are formed on or secured to a shaft extending transversely through the developing device. The shaft is mounted at its ends in the casing side Walls 100, i, for instance, by means of bearing bushes. One end, E13, of the shaft M7' extends out `of the casing and bears a hand crank 119 by means of which the shaft 117 can be rotated into two positions determined by stops 12d, 121, which may be in the form of pins eX- tending into the inside of the device and are secured to the side wall 161. i

Clearly, the stops 124i, 121 are so disposed relatively Vto the cranks 115, 116 that the linkage connections are in a dead centre position in every operative position; in suc-h dead centre positions the closed position, indicated in solid lines in FIG. 6, is ensured by the force of the springs 113 which draws the crank 116 against the stop 121. e v

The invention should not be considered as being limited to the details described and illustrated. Various details and secondary combinations can be used independently of other features yand secondary combinations, `falling with the scope of the accompanying claims.

I'claim: 1. In a copying device, a casing having non-transparent bottom, side, and end walls, a transparent top wall in said casing, a source of light within said casing, means4 dening a contact plate above said transparent top wall, guide means interconnecting said contact plate and said casing and adapted to permit pivotal and substantially vertical movement of said contact plate, operating means mounted in said casing, and means connecting said operating means with said contact plate, said connecting means including a shaft rotatably mounted in said casing, a crank lever having `one end secured to said shaft, a coil spring, means securing one end of said coil spring to the free end of said crank lever, means securing the other end of said coil spring to said contact plate, and stop mean-s secured to said casing in the path of movement of said crank lever in such positions as to limit the movement of said crank lever to an angle in excess of 180.

2. The copying device as set forth in claim 1, in which said coil spring is a tension spring, and including means associated with said tension spring to limit the contraction of said tension spring, whereby movement of said crank lever beyond said limit in the direction towards said contraction-limiting means forces the vconnection point between said tension spring and said contact plate away from said transparent top Wall.

3. The copying device as set forth in claim l, in which one of said stop means is .disposed substantially vertically above the other stop means.

4. The copying device as set forth in claim 1, including a drive motor, and means connecting said drive motor to said shaft.

5. ln a copying device, a casing having nontransparent bottom, side, and end walls, a transparent top wall in said casing, a source of light within said casing, means defining a contact plate above said transparent top wall, guide means interconnecting said contact plate and said casing and adapted to permit pivotal and substantially vertical movement of said contact plate, operating means mounted in said casing, means connecting said operating means with said contact plate, said connecting means including spring means adapted to bias said operating means towards one of two end positions of said operating means depending upon which side of a dead center position said operating means is, the first of said end positions of said operating means corresponding to a position of said contact plate in which it is maintained spaced above said transaprent top wall of the casing while the second end position of said operating means corresponds to a posi tion of said contact plate in which it is ymaintained in yielding contact with copying material on said transparent top wall by said spring means, a shaft rotatably mounted in said casing, two eccentrics securedto said shaft in diierentangular positions, roller means rotatably mounted in said casing above said transparent top Wall and spaced therefrom, a exible strip trained over said roller means, means connecting one end of said strip to one of said eccentrics while said spring means connects the other end of said tiexible strip to the other eccentric, and means connecting said contact plate to said ileXible strip at a vpoint between said roller means and said spring means.

`6. The copying device as set forth in claim 5, in which said two eccentrics are angularly offset by about 160 and said means connecting said one end of the tiexible strip with said one eccentric and said means connecting said spring means to said other eccentric each comprises a ybent member of such shape as to establish said two end Y postions by engagement of said bent members with said operating means.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Ruijs Oct. 13, 1959 

1. IN A COPYING DEVICE, A CASING HAVING NON-TRANSPARENT BOTTOM, SIDE, AND END WALLS, A TRANSPARENT TOP WALL IN SAID CASING, A SOURCE OF LIGHT WITHIN SAID CASING, MEANS DEFINING A CONTACT PLATE ABOVE SAID TRANSPARENT TOP WALL, GUIDE MEANS INTERCONNECTING SAID CONTACT PLATE AND SAID CASING AND ADAPTED TO PERMIT PIVOTAL AND SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL MOVEMENT OF SAID CONTACT PLATE, OPERATING MEANS MOUNTED IN SAID CASING, AND MEANS CONNECTING SAID OPERATING MEANS WITH SAID CONTACT PLATE, SAID CONNECTING MEANS INCLUDING A SHAFT ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN SAID CASING, A CRANK LEVER HAVING ONE END SECURED TO SAID SHAFT, A COIL SPRING, MEANS SECURING ONE END OF SAID COIL SPRING TO THE FREE END OF SAID CRANK LEVER, MEANS SECURING THE OTHER END OF SAID COIL SPRING TO SAID CONTACT PLATE, AND STOP MEANS SECURED TO SAID CASING IN THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF SAID CRANK LEVER IN SUCH POSITIONS AS TO LIMIT THE MOVEMENT OF SAID CRANK LEVER TO AN ANGLE IN EXCESS OF 180* 